1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to child resistant blister pack containers that hold stacked blister packs so that multiple requirements for enhanced safety are provided. First, the containers require compound movement to be opened. Second, the individual medication blister packs are clamped or otherwise locked into the containers. Third, when a blister pack is removed it is torn or otherwise opened to expose the medication.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
The following patents relate to child resistant and other medicine containers:
U.S. Pat. No. 625,757 to Fred C. Groneman describes a blank for making a medicine-box consisting of a four-sided central part adapted to form the bottom of the box mating outward, extensions at the parallel sides and adapted to form the vertical sides of a box and narrow strips along the outer edge portions of said extensions adapted to be turned inward their entire length to produce guards from one end of the box to near the other end, extensions at the ends of the central portion adapted to produce the ends of the box and one of said end extensions provided with a curved line of perforations to facilitate removing a section of one end to gain access for removing medicine from the box, substantially as shown and described for the purpose stated.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,350 to William Horvath describes a snap lock and squeeze open slide top container that has a small centered catch depending from the inner face of the cover. The edge of the catch forms with the closed end of the cover a slot which accommodates the rear edge of the drawer portion of the container. The profile of the catch is tapered, forming an inclined plane directed to the front end of the container. The cover and drawer are slidably engaged by lateral meshing flanges which are interrupted near the closed end to provide slight clearances between the inside of the cover and the outside of the drawer. These clearances, together with an inverted V-shaped cut centered in the rear skirt of the cover, permit the cover to bow up when the sides are squeezed, releasing the edge of the drawer portion from the slot formed by the catch to open the drawer. When the drawer is closed, the edge portion rides forward along the inclined plane depending from the cover, engaging the slot with a click, to lock the container closed. To prevent spillage, the opening of the drawer is limited by a pair of small stops depending from the inner face of the cover near each sidewall, which ride in elongated recesses in the lateral walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,630 to Otto Phillips describes a sliding cover safety package including a container having a cover mounted thereon for slidable movement between open and closed positions with respect to the container. The container and cover are provided with locking lugs having a locked position when the cover is closed in which the cover is locked against movement from its closed position with respect to the container, and an unlocked position when the cover is closed in which the cover can slide with respect to the container to its open position. The locking lugs are movable between the locked and unlocked positions by axial movement of the cover with respect to the container. Resilient biasing member is engaged between the container and cover to bias the locking lugs to the locked position such that the cover can slide from it closed position with respect to the container only after axial movement of the cover with respect to the container against the biasing members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,204 to Howard M. Carey, Jr. describes a two-part package which includes a sleeve for receiving a tray. One surface of the sleeve has openings formed therein for receiving dimpled, detents formed in the tray. As the tray is fully positioned in the sleeves, the detents engage the openings and retain the tray thereby inhibiting unwanted opening of the package and release of contents. Upon exertion of sufficient manual force on the sides of the sleeve, detent action is overcome and the package is opened as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,238 to Jay A. Batchelor describes a medicament package for improving compliance with a therapeutic regimen. The therapeutic regimen involves a plurality of medication administered to a patient in a prescribed sequence and in accordance with specified intervals. The package includes a multiplicity of blister cards of generally uniform planar dimensions. The blister cards carrying the medicaments in sequential order on the individual cards and from card to card. The blister cards being placed in stacked array with the principal dimensions thereof oriented generally horizontally and arranged in order of use with the first to be used topmost. Also included is a base which houses the stack of blister cards and is adapted to support the stack vertically and provides lateral support to the edges of the blister cards. The base permits direct and unobstructed access to the uppermost blister card and limited access only to the edges of the blister cards. A lid is adapted to cover the base and movable to an open position allowing access to the uppermost blister card. Each blister card generally contains indicia denoting the order and sequence when the contents of a particular blister cavity are to be consumed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,187 to Stanley Poncetta et al. describes a dispenser and method for dispensing materials from a blister pack of one or more blister cards. A single blister card having a plurality of blister thereon can be used with other blister cards in a stack. To dispense materials from the aligned blisters of stacked blister cards, a plunger is driven through a guide hole in a top plate and into aligned blisters of a stack of blister cards. In this way, a plurality of blisters can be quickly and cleanly opened. Thus, a plurality of medical pills can be liberated from the blisters and can easily gravitate to a collection region below the stack of blister cards. Several embodiments of the mount for blister card stack is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,018 to John E. Harrold describes a child resistant container for blister packs with a housing with an opening, and slides located inside the housing which position and retain several drawers inserted into the opening. A latching mechanism is provided to engage and retain each of the drawers when inserted into the housing. The latching mechanism has cooperating male and female parts located on the drawer and the housing in positions complimentary to each other. The part located on the housing is functionally operable with a latching trigger slidably connected to the housing. Resilient living springs are provided to urge each of the drawers into latching engagement and, when a drawer is pushed in against the spring, moves to partially disengages the drawer. The latching trigger moves the latching mechanism into a second position fully disengaging the drawer for removal. The remainder of the drawers which have not been pushed in remain retained in the safety container by the latching means.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,935 to Graham L. Lewis describes an integrated medicament package which comprises a prefabricated medicament container having a plurality of initially open top blisters a closure cover affixed to one marginal edge thereof by at least one living hinge, the closure cover having at least one clasp on an open end of the closure cover opposite the living hinge, the blisters arranged in rows and columns separated by longitudinal and transverse shoulders, at least one of the longitudinal and the transverse shoulders having perforations therethrough wherein the prefabricated medicine container is adapted to be separated along the perforations into a plurality of units, and a sealing sheet with medicament information at a location corresponding to the at least one said plurality of blister such that the medicament information on the outside surface of the sealing sheet corresponds with the medicament in the blisters, the medicament information comprising the name of the patient, the time of day, the day of week and the calendar date for the patient to take the medicament in the blister, the sealing sheet when removed from the location indicates to the patient that the medicament has been taken.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,053 to John E. Harrold describes a child resistant multiple dosage blister pack dispenser which includes a main housing bottom component having walls and bottom panel for supporting a blister pack, and a main top component. The bottom panel has a plurality of orifices located so as to position a blister pack thereabove, with individual dosages of the blister pack located above the orifices. These orifices are of sufficient size and shape to push individual dosages from the blister pack therethrough. The main housing top component is permanently connected to the bottom component and laterally moveable relative to the bottom component. The top component has a first position, being a rest position, and having a second position, being a dispensing position. There is a biasing spring connected to at least one of the bottom component and the top component, that biases the top component relative to the bottom component so that the top component is in its first position. There are a plurality of push tabs located on the top component in an array corresponding to the plurality of the orifices on the bottom component. These plurality of push tabs are not located above the orifices or the individual dosages when the top component is in its first position. Further, the plurality of push tabs are located above the individual dosages and the bottom component orifices for pushing dosage from the blister pack therethrough when the top component is in its second position.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.